University of Virginia Library

SCENE the Second.

Almeyda upon a Couch, Phænissa by her.
Alm.
Why cou'd not I indulge this gentle Slumber,
This short Reprieve from Sadness, where such Dreams
So full of Extasy, and seeming Bliss,
Danc'd in my Brain, and gather'd in my Thoughts;
Where my Alucius (for I'll call him mine)
Mine, was here presented in this Dream,
With eager Transport seiz'd my yielding Hand,
And led me to the sacred Temple? There,
Oh, how our Hearts, which were before united,
Rejoyc'd at the uniting of our Hearts!
But 'twas a Dream, a faint, a fading Joy.

Phæ.
'Twas an auspicious Omen of Success;
These Dreams presage a Tide of coming Joys
For you, and your Alucius.

Alm.
Phænissa, No;
Fortune and we have ever been at Variance,
Ne'er did she smile, but she design'd us ill,
She shew'd us Heav'n, then with a spiteful Frown
She bid us die: This Dream is her Device;
She hath reduc'd me to the lowest Ebb
Of Mis'ry; now with a triumphant Envy
Sh'insinuates smiling Pleasures in my Sleep,
Which when I wake, I find Delusion all.

Phæ.
Madam, the Gen'ral comes, dry up these Tears,
They may produce Suspicion at this time.

Enter Scipio.
Scip.
When Beauty weeps, 'tis like the Sun eclips'd,
It spreads a Cloud of Terror all around,
And stamps in ev'ry Heart the dismal Woe.

Alm.
Let not my Looks, or Griefs infectious prove;
I wou'd alone be wretched, and alone
In private Sorrow vent these gushing Tears.

Scip.
But yet these Tears are ominous to Love,
And bode me no Success; must Scipio droop,
Be still a Slave, and languish unredress'd,
For an inexorable, cruel Fair?

Alm.
If cruel, that impute to Heav'n, not me;
Blame those alone who never pair'd our Hearts,
Nor destin'd mutual Love—Can I be blam'd?
Can I reverse immutable Decrees?

Scip.
They are your own, not Heav'n's; 'tis you ordain,
And cherish this Aversion to my Love,
Or else I should not weary the long Days
With craving Blessings at a Hand so fair,
And so unkind; yet think, oh, timely think!
Our mutual Welfare rests on you alone.

Alm.
You are my Conqu'rour, and my Patron both;
And they demand my Rev'rence and Esteem;
But when you talk of Love, the Lover's Name
Is grating, and unwelcome to my Thoughts.

Scip.
Now you profess that Hate, disdainful Woman;
These Arts, and weak Evasions are in vain:
If I'm a Conqu'rour, I am curs'd enough;
And if a Friend, my Curse is greater still.
But say no more, you have reveal'd too much,
Madness ensues, then dread the dire Effects.
[Exit Scipio.

Alm.
What hath my Folly done? Provok'd the Man,
The only Man, who had the Pow'r t'undo me?
Did he not threaten in his Looks, his Words,
Instant Revenge for his Repulse in Love?
And all determin'd in Alucius's Death:
And who but his Almeyda the curs'd Cause!
Had I consented, feign'd, or own'd our Loves,
The Event, tho' later, still had been the same:
Yet shall I follow, stop the harsh Decree,
And tell him all the melancholy Story,
How much Alucius and my self have lov'd,
How true, and how unhappy we have been;
Perhaps he may be kind, and pity us:
But shall I trust that Secret from my Lips,
On which our Loves, our every Thing depends,
Inflame him more, and aggravate his Rage?
Oh miserable Fate! Should Hell ope wide
Its horrid Caverns, where the howling Damn'd
Moan their past Crimes, could there a Wretch be found
More wretched than my self? The Torments there
Are mild in Competition with my own.
If there grim Minos shakes his aweful Nod,
And spreads black Terrour o'er the sentenc'd Crowd;
They own the Justice of th'Infernal Gloom,
And that Reflection moderates their Doom:
But I, tho' guiltless, all their Tortures feel,
The rolling Stone, the Vulture, and the Wheel.
They who would prove at once the worst Despair,
Let 'em but Love, like me, they'll find it there.

[Exeunt.